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The curious case of the uncomfortable couch - Printable Version

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The curious case of the uncomfortable couch - Richard - 02-23-2018

I have a 99 model coach with two of the Villa fold out sofas that Newell used for about ten years. 

This is a pic of one of the cushions. Owners of this era will immediately recognize it.     

Several years ago I reupholstered the couches in leather to match some of the other trim in the coach. They were uncomfortable before the work, and even more uncomfortable afterwards. The biggest issue was that the seatback was too upright to the seat base, therefore no back support. Also the couches were much softer in the middle than at the ends. 

Before you invest any more time in this tome, be advised I am a recovering engineer ( no puns intended on the reupholstery), which means if it's worth doing then it's worth overdoing. And my main purpose is that coaches of this era probably will need some freshening on the couches, here are some things I learned that may help you avoid some issues. 

So, why the cramped angle between the seat back and the seat bottom. It has two major causes and one minor one. One of the causes is the design of the cushion. If you look at the pleats, they are at the bottom of the seat back and the back of the seat cushion. The way the pleats are held in place is with an internal flap sewn to the inside of the pleat. The flap is attached to the back of the cushion. So the pleats kind of depress the foam around them. 
       
As you can see the cushion is thinner by almost an inch at the pleat end. This closes up the angle.
The other cause is kind of interesting. I could never figure out why the very same couches in my 95 weren't upright like the ones in the 99, and upright like the ones I have seen in other coaches. It seems the rear of the cushion actually hits the valence at the window. A Ha! I didn't really discover this until I had recovered the couches and installed them for a third time. The fix was to move the entire couch frame including the drawer mounts forward a couple of inches. 

All of this head scratching pointed out several items that may come in handy for you or your upholstery guy. One, don't reuse the foam. I did the first time, and although it fluffed up when steamed, it didn't have the resiliency of new foam. Two, and most importantly, don't overtighten the pleats. This was a rookie mistake on my part the first time I did the cushions. Because after all, if tight is good, then real tight is better, right? 

I decided to go with new foam and a differently designed cushion to avoid the pleats. 
Here is a pic of the finished product.
   
I'll show you some pics of the rest of the story in the next post.


RE: The curious case of the uncomfortable couch - Richard - 02-23-2018

       
The real workhorse of this project is the sewing machine. Some years ago I bought this beast to fix some of the awnings. It has more than paid for itself. 

While I had the frame out, I decided that one of the reasons it sagged in the middle was either worn out springs or too few springs. So I might have doubled the original count.
       

More is better, right? 

I learned a huge trick from Utube, actually from an ancient Mexican who spoke no English The entire U tube session was silent, just pictures of him sewing. He used staples to prealign the edges and curves prior to sewing. WOW! I had been trying to do it with pins, and pins do not like to go through two layers of leather. They will however go through one layer of skin just fine. Anyway, that trick is a gem. Simply pop out the staples after the seam is done. Quick, cheap, and easy. 

   

In the first post I hinted there was a third contributor to the vertical back. This fix actually took the longest to figure out and correct. There is a TEE shaped bracket the slides in a rail of the frame when the couch is deployed as a bed. If the vertical arm of that tee is lengthened by about 1/4 inch it kicks the back of the couch back another inch, and makes the couch flatter when deployed. However, this required cutting the bracket and welding it back a 1/4 longer. Not really something I would expect an upholstery shop to do. 

   

Last but not least, I have two sets of perfectly good leather covers for that style couch if anyone wants them


RE: The curious case of the uncomfortable couch - bikestuff - 02-23-2018

Looks great! Good job! I suspect its far more comfortable than my newish Villa couches.


RE: The curious case of the uncomfortable couch - folivier - 02-23-2018

Interesting, my '98 Villa couch was very comfortable. So they must have made the change after #486.
Nice job Richard!

And if you want to truly see someone talented you should see Richard sewing. I was there when he repaired his awning and watched in awe as he sewed in a new piece then redid all of the seams. If I would have tried that I would have gotten wrapped up in the awning material and never seen again.


RE: The curious case of the uncomfortable couch - LynnJeff - 02-23-2018

Richard

You are one scary dude...